Saturday, October 6, 2018

October is the best season for a nice, spine-chilling scarefest, and HBO Asia will be rewarding horror fans with a 6-episode anthology called "Folklore".

Created by award-winning local director Eric Khoo, "Folklore" is a HBO Asia Original series that brings a modern or updated twist to the classic ghoulies and myths that Asians will be familiar with. The team of directors, specially requested by Eric Khoo to be part of the project, spin creepy tales that possess their own home countries' brand of horror.

Each story will be told in the local language that the episode is based on, and will also provide insights of the social issues that exist in that country.

Six episodes will air each Sunday exclusively on HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601), beginning from 7 October, 10 PM.They will also be available onHBO Go and HBO On Demand (StarHub TV Ch 602).

Non-subscribers of HBO will be able to watch the first episode "Folklore: A Mother's Love"via streaming on HBO GO for free, from 10 PM on October 7.

What is a mother to do when her lonely, borderline psychopathic son has an obsession for the newest girl in town? In this case, even the afterlife is not an obstacle.

Both "A Mother's Love" and "Pob" were
recently selected in the 43rd Toronto Film Festival held in September -
the first time an Asian TV series have been included in the list of
shows since the festival's inception for Primetime programmes.

Red Dot Diva caught a few screener episodes, and she can tell you - they are legit scary! (She had a pillow handy to cover her face for some parts. Yes, she's a wimp.)

Ask any Asian and most of them will testify that Asian horror stories are way scarier than Western ones. This is mostly because the supernatural is highly ingrained in Asian culture, psyche and religion. HBO Asia's "Folklore" hits all the right spots in terms of the scare factor, cultural familiarity, and emotional touch points. The stories were well written, deftly directed, and filmed in appropriately eerie settings. Many of the actors did a fine job navigating the tense, suspenseful scenes when the viewer's imagination is already going wild. Kudos especially to Kazuki Kitamura with this nuanced performance in the Japanese episode, "Tatami".

For horror fans - HBO Asia's "Folklore" is a must-watch! Just remember to turn down the lights, and make sure you can squeeze someone's hand when it gets too bone chilling. (But, please also remember to check whose hand you are holding!)